U.S. patent number 4,650,459 [Application Number 06/789,674] was granted by the patent office on 1987-03-17 for convolutely wound paper tampon tube.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Invention is credited to Donald A. Sheldon.
United States Patent |
4,650,459 |
Sheldon |
March 17, 1987 |
Convolutely wound paper tampon tube
Abstract
Inner and outer convolutely wound cardboard tubes of a tampon
applicator are formed with a different number of ply windings.
Inventors: |
Sheldon; Donald A. (Appleton,
WI) |
Assignee: |
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
(Neenah, WI)
|
Family
ID: |
25148352 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/789,674 |
Filed: |
October 21, 1985 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
604/15 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
13/26 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
13/20 (20060101); A61F 13/26 (20060101); A61F
013/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;604/11,13,14,15-18,904 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
128793 |
|
Nov 1946 |
|
AU |
|
2255879 |
|
Jul 1975 |
|
FR |
|
1049894 |
|
Nov 1966 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Yasko; John D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Leipold; P. A. Traut; D. L. Duggan;
J. J.
Claims
I claim:
1. A tampon applicator comprising a larger diameter outer tube
adapted to confine a tampon pledget, a smaller diameter inner
plunger tube partially telescoped therein and adapted to eject said
pledget from said larger diameter tube, said smaller tube having a
wall thickness greater than the wall thickness of said larger tube,
and said smaller inner tube is provided with at least one
longitudinal slit.
2. The tampon applicator of claim 1, wherein said tubes are
convolutely wound paper tubes.
3. The tampon applicator of claim 1, wherein said greater diameter
tube is provided with a projection on its inner surface to
interlock with said at least one longitudinal slit of said smaller
diameter tube.
4. The tampon applicator of claim 1 wherein said smaller diameter
tube has a wall thickness of four plies and said greater diameter
tube has a wall thickness of three plies.
5. The tampon applicator of claim 3 wherein said smaller diameter
tube has a wall thickness of four plies and said greater diameter
tube has a wall thickness of three plies.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates, generally, to the field of
catamenial tampons for personal feminine care or protection in
order to absorb or otherwise contain menstrual fluids or similar
exudate. The present invention relates more particularly to paper
tubes particularly useful for the insertion of a tampon. Of special
concern is a more economical construction of a plunger type
tampon.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART
All manner and variety of devices or appliances configured for the
absorption of such body fluids as menses are of course well known.
As a class, these articles ought to possess certain necessary
attributes of absorbency, comfort and psychological as well as
physiological or physical protection. Desirably, these devices also
are characterized as being discreet both during wear and when
carried upon the wearer's person in anticipation of use. As will be
seen from the ensuing discussion, these objectives are somewhat
antagonistic in the sense that attainment of one has heretofore
ordinarily necessitated compromising one or more other desirable
feature.
The art has offered two basic types of feminine protection device
with those objectives borne in mind; sanitary napkins or pads have
been developed for external wear about the vulvar region of a user
while tampons have been developed for residence within the vaginal
cavity and interruption of menstrual flow therefrom. Each offers
distinct advantages and, as one would expect, distinct or peculiar
disadvantages, which range from psychological impediments and/or
concerns to physical discomfiture.
Looking to tampons as such an alternative to sanitary napkins, the
same are preferred by a substantial number of women. Offering the
ability to intercept menses within the vaginal canal, the
disadvantages inhering in sanitary napkins in respect of covers and
attachment means are overcome by this approach. That is not to say,
however, that tampons afford a superior means of feminine
protection for all users. For example, there are many individuals
who, for either physical or psychological reasons, are unable to
utilize tampons as an effective means of feminine protection.
Tampons themselves may be found lacking in terms of construction
inasmuch as efficacy relies significantly on the ability of the
same to undergo radial expansion upon fluid swelling in order to
form a seal or zone of occlusion within the vaginal canal. Failure
to do so implies overall failure of the tampon to serve as a
reliable protection device.
While there are essentially three types of tampons, plunger, stick
and digital, the most preferable type of tampon in the United
States is the plunger type. The tubes for the plunger type are
either of the disposable or non-disposable variety. During the past
several decades, increasing emphasis has been placed upon the ease
of disposability of consumer goods after the goods have performed
their intended purpose. A paper tampon tube, to be easily
disposable must be formed with an adhesive readily soluble in cold
water and preferably constructed so that delamination of the tube
occurs in a short period of time.
Plunger-type tampons are generally formed in two parts with an
outer tube having an inner diameter slightly greater than the outer
diameter of the tampon pledget inserted therein. The second part of
a tampon inserter means is some type of plunger which operates in
cooperation with the tube to expel the pledget. The tubes are
generally made of paper products such as cardboard or
thermoplastic. Further, thermoplastic tubes generally have an
insertion end which forms a hemispherical profile around the
leading edge of the tampon to protect it and maintain its integrity
during insertion. Commercially available tampons utilizing
cardboard tubes, however, generally do not have this type of
closure, but rather the leading edge of the tampon extends beyond
the tube end. Both thermoplastic and paper derived tubes can be
made with a reduced diameter base which can be used for gripping or
to better maintain the plunger used for expulsion, or for both
purposes.
The ideal tampon tube should be inexpensive, simple to make, easily
disposable, attractive and hygienic. Both molded plastic and paper
inserter tubes have not been completely satisfactory in meeting
these desirable attributes. There are no commercially available
tubes molded from thermoplastics that are water disposable or
flushable. Furthermore, the relative cost of thermoplastic is
substantially greater than tubes which are made from paper or paper
products. In addition, thermoplastic molded tubes having a
hemispherical shaped leading edge comprising individual arcuate
shaped lobes are extremely difficult to mold without providing
lobes having sharp edges or flashing, i.e. irregularly shaped burrs
of plastic. Such tubes could provide problems when being withdrawn
from the vagina. Paper tubes, on the other hand, also have
problems. Commercially available cardboard tubes for tampons are
generally spirally wound and open at the leading edge which may
result in a fiber slough when the tampon is inserted. Such tubes
generally have a relatively low beam strength, that is, a low
resistance to a radial collapsing of the tube. One example of such
spirally wound paper tubes can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,438,
issued Oct. 9, 1973. After the outer tube is formed, the end
through which the tampon is ejected may be shaped to have a tapered
portion of smaller diameter than the diameter of the tampon. Such
tapered portion has a generally round termination with corrugations
on slits to form flexible petal portions through which the tampon
can be forcibly ejected by the inner telescoping tube. The adhesive
for holding the spiral layers together may be water soluble so that
the paper tubes may be thrown into a toilet and flushed into the
drain pipe. The water soluble adhesive causes delamination of the
spiral layers so that the rigid tube structure is quickly softened.
The paper is of a type chosen to disintegrate in water. Spirally
wound tubes have a relatively low beam strength.
Recent advances in the making of paper tubes by convolutely winding
the tubes for greater beam strength are disclosed in U.S.
application Ser. No. 446,838 filed Dec. 6, 1982, said application
being commonly assigned.
Heretofore, cardboard tampon tubes made from multiple plies of
paper have had the same number of plies for both the inner and
outer tubes. The outer tube generally requires greater strength and
rigidity than the inner tube. Accordingly, when the inner tube has
the same number of plies as the outer tube an unnecessary expense
is involved.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a more cost effective
tampon applicator by using only a necessary thickness of paper in
the inner and outer tubes to give desired strength and
rigidity.
A further object of the invention is to reduce the number of plies
of paper in one of the inner and outer tubes of a tampon applicator
where the tubes are convolutely wound.
Since the outer tube generally requires greater strength and
rigidity than the inner pusher tube, because the outer tube must
hold the shape of a petal profile on the tip of an end for safety
and ease of insertion and not be crushed or distorted when gripped
by a user, a 4-ply wrapped tube of approximately 0.012 inch wall
thickness is desirable. A 3-ply wrapped tube of approximately 0.009
inch wall thickness is adequate for the inner tube and the
elimination of an extra ply is more cost effective.
However, when the tampon applicator is of the type having one or
more longitudinal slits through the tube wall to interlock with a
projection on the inner wall of the outer tube, a stronger, thicker
inner tube is necessary. In this instance, a 4-ply 0.012 inch thick
outer tube is used in conjunction with a 5-ply 0.015 inch thick
inner tube.
Additional features and advantages of the details of construction
of the tampon applicators will become more apparent as the
invention is more fully hereinafter described and claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the telescoping inner and
outer tubes;
FIG. 2 shows an enlargement of a portion of the longitudinal cross
section of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a modification of the
invention;
FIG. 4a is a perspective view of the inner tube of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 4b is a partial perspective view of the outer tube of FIG.
3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE
INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a tampon applicator having an outer tube 1 for holding
a tampon. A petal profile on the tip end 4 restrains the tampon in
the tube, but yields to allow the tampon to pass therethrough when
pushed by the inner telescoping tube 2. Tubes 1 and 2, preferably,
are formed from convolutely wound paper blanks and have a multiple
ply thickness. However, it will be appreciated that the tubes may
be formed in any suitable manner, i.e., spirally wound, and that
any suitable material may be used. The paper blanks have a
thickness of approximately 0.003 inch. The plies of the tube are
held together by a suitable adhesive, preferably a water soluble
heat activatable adhesive.
The outer tube 1 requires greater strength than the inner pusher
tube 2 in order to maintain the shape of the petal profile on end 4
and to prevent crushing or distorting of the finger holding section
which would increase the force necessary for expulsion of the
tampon.
To give the outer tube greater strength an extra ply of paper is
added as shown in FIG. 2, wherein outer tube 1 is shown with four
plies 3 resulting in a a tube wall thickness of approximately 0.012
inch, and inner tube 2 is formed with three plies resulting in a
tube wall thickness of approximately 0.009 inch.
When using a compact applicator of the type shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 4a
and 4b, however, the inner tube requires a thicker wall. In this
embodiment inner tube 11 has two longitudinal slits 12 and 13. Slit
12 stops short of the ends of the tube and is spaced from the ends
of the tube by portions 15. Slit 13 stops short of the inner end of
tube 11 by a portion 15 but extends to the outer end of the tube as
shown in FIG. 4a. Outer tube 10 is provided with a projection 14 on
its inner surface as shown in FIG. 4b. Projection 14 may be formed
or attached in any suitable manner, i.e. a punched portion of the
tube wall or an adhesively secured portion. Projection 14
interlocks with one of the longitudinal slits to prevent removal of
the inner tube from the outer tube. Because the inner tube is slit
and has circumferential integrity only through portions 15, a
thicker, stronger tube wall is required. In this instance, for
example, a 4-ply outer tube having a 0.012 inch wall thickness is
used in conjunction with a 5-ply inner tube having a 0.015 inch
wall thickness.
In a preferred embodiment, the surfaces of the paper blanks forming
the interior of the wound coils of the tubes are coated with a
water soluble, heat activatable adhesive. The surfaces of the
blanks forming the exterior of the tubes are coated with a thin
water soluble thermoplastic such as polyvinyl alcohol,
polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl acetate and
hydroxypropyl cellulose to which a high percentage of a suitable
clay is mixed to give a smooth slick exterior for ease of insertion
and retraction by a consumer. The water soluble heat activatable
adhesive may be of any suitable type, but is preferably a
composition including polyethyloxazoline, a compatible water
dispersible adhesive and an antiblocking agent to prevent premature
adhesion. Such composition is more fully described in U.S. Pat. No.
4,522,967.
The number of plies of the formed tube depends on the thickness and
strength of the paper used. Preferably, the tubes are formed from
paper having a short-fiber, high-ground wood content and a weight
of 36-50 lbs. per 1,000 square feet.
Although particular tube structures have been described to
illustrate various manners in which tampon applicators can be
fabricated and utilized, it will be appreciated that the present
invention is not limited to such particular illustrations and
descriptions. Accordingly, any and all modifications and equivalent
arangements for such devices falling within the scope of the
following claims should be considered to be part of the present
invention.
* * * * *